80. Perchance it may trouble thee that the Jews
took away the stone and loosened the grave cloths, and thou mayest
haply be anxious as to who shall move the stone from thy tomb. As
though He Who could restore the Spirit could not remove the stone; or
He Who made the bound to walk could not burst the bonds; or He Who had
shed light upon the covered eyes could not uncover the face; or He Who
could renew the course of nature could not cleave the stone! But,
in order that they may believe their eyes who will not believe with
their heart, they remove the stone, they see the corpse, they smell the
stench, they loose the grave cloths. They cannot deny that he is
dead whom they behold rising again; they see the signs of death and the
proofs of life. What if, whilst they are busied, they are
converted by the very toil itself? What if, while they hear, they
believe their own ears? What if, while they behold, they are
instructed by their own eyes? What if, while they loose the
bonds, they free their own minds? What if, while Lazarus is being
unbound, the people is set free, while they let Lazarus go, themselves
return to the Lord? For, lastly, many who had come to Mary,
seeing what had taken place, believed.